Amid plentiful import offers from several scrap suppliers, Turkish steelmakers, who have needed to replenish their scrap stocks, have concluded some import scrap bookings in the past week. Last week's ex-Baltic scrap deals for HMS I/II 80:20 scrap were concluded at $386-387/mt CFR, indicating an increase of $4-5/mt as compared to the previous transaction levels. Meanwhile, an ex-Europe HMS I/II 75:25 scrap booking has been concluded at $373-375/mt CFR, up by $3-5/mt compared to the previous transaction prices.
Foreign scrap suppliers' offers are still available for the Turkish scrap market, with current HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers ranging at $386-388/mt CFR from the UK and Baltic region, while US HMS I/II 80:20 scrap offers are at $390/mt CFR and above. Even though most Turkish producers have met their scrap needs with their latest import purchases, some of them still need to book scrap, and so new transactions are expected to be concluded during the current week. Turkish steelmakers have so far accepted the higher levels of scrap prices, which have been trending upward since early August, amid expectations of improved demand for their rebar offers. However, with such expectations still failing to materialize, it is not clear how long Turkish mills will accept import scrap offer levels, which have continued to move up gradually.